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Segregated Sundays: Does Email Reveal Unexpected Truths?

Many churches have relatively homogeneous membership, but researchers found a difference between what some churches say about race and what they do. (iStock Photo)

Mainline Protestant churches, despite decades of advocacy for racial justice in society, are the least likely among Christian groups to respond to email inquiries about membership from people who have non-white sounding names, according to a paper published this fall by University of Connecticut researchers.

By contrast, the study found, evangelical Protestants, who typically belong to politically conservative denominations wary of political goals associated with secular liberalism, show almost no variation when it comes to responding to potential new congregants, regardless of race. The study was published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

The principal authors of the study, UConn sociology professors Michael Wallace and Bradley Wright, say this type of research provides better insight into attitudes about race as they’re actually lived, rather than more old-fashioned question-and-answer surveys.

“You’re reaching people in an unguarded moment this way,” Wright says, “which gives us an opportunity to see how people actually behave, as opposed to what they might tell a pollster on the phone.”

According to the research, 67.1 percent of whites who sent e-mails to Protestant churches received at least one response, compared to 57.5 percent of blacks, 59.7 percent of Hispanics, and 48.9 percent of Asians.

By contrast, 59.1 percent of whites who wrote to evangelical Protestant churches received responses, compared to 59.0 percent of blacks, 57.7 percent of Hispanics, and 55.9 percent of Asians. Among Catholics, the numbers were 70.8 percent of whites receiving responses, 66.2 percent of blacks, 60.0 percent of Hispanics, and 64.6 percent of Asians.

“A lot of this has to do with where people live, first and foremost,” Wallace says. “One of the reasons people affiliate with churches or any other group is because they like being around other people who are like them.”

The study was designed by creating a nationally representative sample of 3,113 churches from the three largest Christian traditions in the U.S. The researchers then crafted a brief email inquiring about joining a particular church, and randomly assigned names typically associated with whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians to the emails.

They found that not only did emails from white people receive the most responses, but that responses to whites tended to be longer in word count and more effusive, by several quality measurements, than responses to non-whites.

The results weren’t entirely surprising to Wallace and Wright, given the segregated nature of American Christianity. Despite the Biblical admonition to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations,” about 86 percent of American Christian congregations draw at least 80 percent of their members from a single racial group.

But what did surprise Wallace and Wright was the disconnect between the institutional commitments of mainline denominations and the day-to-day behavior of the churches themselves.

“Mainline Protestants will focus on social change rather than individual change – what’s known as ‘structural justice,’” Wallace says. “Evangelical Protestants, on the other hand, tend to be more focused on how individuals behave, or ‘interactional justice’.”

Wallace and Wright say the study has implications beyond individual churches’ ability to live up to the principles of their faiths. Religious segregation both reinforces racial inequality throughout society, and redirects social resources, since churches play such a vital role as hubs for networking, civic participation, and charitable support.

“This is something that Christians, and non-Christian Americans, should be concerned about,” Wright says. “It’s one thing to express a commitment to racial harmony, but it’s another thing entirely to live up to that commitment.”

Join us for a talk by Gina Barreca,2018 UCONN BOARD OF TRUSTEESDISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH

All great works of fiction, poetry and dramaâas well as texts forming mythologies, religions, national epics to heroic sagasâhave loneliness at the heart of their narrative. From Persephone to Peter Pan, from âFrankensteinâ to âFrozen,â the stories we pass along are saturated with unwilling isolation.âOnly around half of Americans say they have meaningful, daily face-to-face social interactions,â according to a 2017 study. A former U.S. Surgeon General argues that âWe live in the most technologically connected age in the history of civilization, yet rates of loneliness have doubled since the 1980s.â We need more than social media. We need social contact. We need community. How can we break through the loneliness barrier? Being alone when in need of companionship is more than sad; itâs an epidemic.Chronic loneliness is as bad for your health as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. We need to change our national story and, often, our personal ones as well.Even the concept of the âlone wolfâ is a myth. Wolves hunt in packs.

Reception to follow.

For more information about this event, or if you are an individual who requires special accommodation to participate, please contact the CLAS Deanâs Office at (860) 486-2713.

A liberal arts and sciences degree prepares students with the tools they need to excel across a wide range of careers. Given the number of options available to you, it can be overwhelming to narrow down career choices. Attending CLAS Career Night will provide you exposure to career opportunities for CLAS students.

This semesterâs focus will be on research-based careers. During this event you will engage with CLAS alumni, learn about various occupations, and gain insight about how to best prepare for your future career.

The McNair Scholars Program and the Office of Undergraduate Research invite you to join us for a brown bag research seminar.

Birds, Bacteria, and Bioinformatics: Why Evolutionary Biology is the Best

Sarah Hird, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Molecular and Cell Biology

This series is open to all undergraduate and graduate students, and is designed especially for students conducting (or interested in conducting) STEM research. These seminars are opportunities to learn about research being pursued around campus, to talk with faculty about their path into research, and to ask questions about getting involved in research.

About CLAS

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is the academic core of learning and research at UConn. We are committed to the full spectrum of academics across the sciences, social sciences, and humanities. We give students a liberal arts and sciences education that empowers them with broad knowledge, transferable skills, and an ability to think critically about important issues across a variety of disciplines.